The Voice of Experiences

In this episode of The Best Part of Travel, Roisin O'Sullivan, managing director of Walks and Devour, offers a bird's-eye view of what's shaping the travel experiences market this summer and beyond. With over 14 years at Walks, Roisin brings sharp insight on everything from the impact of large-scale sporting events like the Olympics and the World Cup to the challenges of OTA relationsh...

In this episode of The Best Part of Travel podcast, Arival Managing Editor Janelle Visser sits down with Shannon Stowell, CEO of the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), to explore what adventure travel really means, why it's booming, and what tour, activity and attraction operators can learn from one of travel's most dynamic and community-driven sectors. Shannon brings over 20 years...

In this episode of The Best Part of Travel, Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce head Down Under (virtually) for a conversation with Meredith Rangel, founder of Bookable Tourism, who is on a mission to get Australia's tourism industry connected to the right booking technology. With a background spanning hotels, attractions, and booking tech startups, Meredith brings a rare, vendor-neutral perspect...

In this season premiere of The Best Part of Travel, Arival CEO and co-founder Douglas Quinby sits down with Andres Spitzer, the newly appointed CEO of Civitatis — the leading OTA for Spanish and Portuguese-speaking travelers. With a background spanning entrepreneurship and Amazon, Andres brings a fresh, tech-forward perspective to one of the experiences sector's most distinctive platforms. Fro...

In the season two finale of The Best Part of Travel , co-hosts Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce reflect on the standout themes and conversations from the past year. Sharing highlight clips from their favorite episodes, they explore what’s shaping the future of experiences, from trust, differentiation, and quality-driven travel to AI adoption, collaboration between attractions, and human connection...

In this episode of The Best Part of Travel , we sit down with Erik Blachford, former Expedia CEO and longtime travel industry leader, to explore what’s really changing in travel experiences — and what’s not. From AI and consolidation to leadership and human connection, this conversation cuts through the hype to focus on what matters most for operators and experience creators in 2026 and beyond. 🧭...

In this episode of The Best Part of Travel, your hosts Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce sit down with Haley Ward, VP of Sales at Hudson Yards Experiences, to unpack how one of New York City’s most iconic attractions—Edge NYC—drives demand, delivers exceptional moments, and keeps guests coming back. Haley shares how her team uses seasonal activations—including wildly popular concepts like Pinkmas—t...

In this episode of The Best Part of Travel, we sit down with James Thornton, CEO of Intrepid Travel, to explore why multi-day tours are taking off, and how authentic small group experiences, people-first leadership and a thoughtfully integrated climate strategy have been essential to Intrepid’s success. 🗺️ Topics we cover: The rise of multi-day tours & meaningful travel: Travelers are increasi...

The world of multi-day tours is changing fast — and the technology powering it is evolving just as quickly. In this episode, your podcast co-hosts Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce dive into the tech side of the increasingly popular world of multi-day travel , exploring how distribution and booking tech are evolving to move multi-day forward. First up, Travis Pittman , CEO and Co-Founder of TourRad...

What’s the secret behind Secret Food Tours — one of the fastest-growing culinary experience brands in the world? Co-founders Oliver Mernick-Levene and Nico Jacquart join The Best Part of Travel co-hosts Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce to share how they scaled from one city to over 100, all while keeping each experience personal, local, and delicious. They open up about building their own tech, st...

Can tour operators grow without relying on OTAs? In this episode of The Best Part of Travel podcast, we explore how private tours and personalized experiences are reshaping the future of travel. Context Travel’s CEO June Chin shares why private, personalized experiences are the key to long-term growth and loyal customers. Discover:  ✅ Why personalization is becoming the competitive edge in travel...

People are choosing experiences over things — but what happens when even experiences risk becoming commodities? In this episode of the Best Part of Travel podcast, Joe Pine, co-author of The Experience Economy and author of the forthcoming book on The Transformation Economy , joins hosts Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce to talk about experience design, commoditization, and how tour and activity op...

In this episode of the Best Part of Travel podcast, hosts Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce discuss the current state of AI in the travel experiences sector (and their favourite androids). Joined by special guest Janette Roush, Chief AI Officer at Brand USA, they delve into the opportunities and applications of AI in travel, both practical and creative. Key topics include: the impact of AI on websi...

In this episode of the Best Part of Travel podcast, hosted by Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce, we discuss the evolution of online booking systems, or "restech platforms" in the tours, activities and attractions sector of travel, and listen in on a conversation between Andrea Carini, CEO of FareHarbor, the largest restech in the travel experiences space, and Arival CEO Douglas Quinby, which took p...

In this episode of the Best Part of Travel podcast, hosted by Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce, we travel Down Under to delve into Australia's unique approach to cultural attractions tourism and visitor experiences. Featuring guest interviews with: Annabel Sullivan, Executive Officer of Cultural Attractions of Australia; Catherine Hughes, Business Development Manager at the Sydney Opera House; Mir...

We’re kicking off the new season of our (re-named and re-launched) Best Part of Travel podcast with an exploration of travel trends in 2025. In this first episode of season two, your podcast hosts Janelle Visser, Managing Editor of Arival, and industry veteran Stephen Joyce are joined by special guest Dan Christian from the Travel Trends podcast to discuss the top travel trends for 2025 — and what...

In this episode, Stephen Joyce and Janelle Visser recap the first season of the Arival Voice of Experiences podcast. They discuss their favourite episodes, the variety of content they covered, as well as the top five episodes from Season One by listener ranking. The top five episodes mentioned feature the following guests: 5) Peter Brown from Big Bus Tours, 4) Christian Watts from Magpie Travel, 3...

In this conversation, Jon Owen, CEO of Go City, and Douglas Quinby, CEO of Arival, discuss the multi-attraction pass. They explore the size and scope of the pass market, the structure of the pass model, and the range of attractions and experiences offered. They also discuss the evolving trends in the market, such as the shift towards more experiential and off-the-beaten-track offerings. The conver...

In this episode, Martin Harlow discusses the importance of having a distribution strategy and online travel agencies (OTAs) for tour and activity operators and attractions. He emphasizes the need for a basic strategy to get products to market and highlights that OTAs are often the first point of contact for consumers during the research phase. Martin explains that the choice of OTAs should be base...

Summary In this conversation, Janelle and Stephen discuss the importance of LGBTQ+ travelers. They explore the meaning of LGBTQ+ and its variations, as well as the significant economic value of LGBTQ+ travel. The guests, Glenn Tkach and Rebecca Fisher, share their experiences in designing and leading LGBTQ+ history tours in Vancouver and Philadelphia, respectively. They discuss the challenges of u...

Summary In this conversation, Christian Watts from Magpie Travel discusses the impact of AI on tours, activities, and attractions. The discussion covers the use of AI in rewriting content, customer service, and personalized trip planning. The conversation also delves into the challenges and opportunities of using AI, as well as the tools and technologies being used in this sector. The conversation...

Summary Janelle and Stephen speak with Kelsey Tonner from Guest Focus about corporate sales and how tour businesses can tap into the corporate market. He shares his background in the industry and how he transitioned to focusing on tour business coaching. Kelsey emphasizes the advantages of corporate sales, such as regular and repeat business, premium pricing opportunities, streamlined planning pro...

Summary Tom McGarry, Head of New Business at Holiday Extras, discusses his journey in the travel industry and the company's focus on business development and ticketing. He explains how the company is leveraging customer data to offer personalized recommendations for things to do while traveling. The conversation also delves into the company's culture and the efforts made to create a collab...

Summary In this episode, Stephen and Janelle discuss the hot topics panel from the Arival 360 Berlin event. They focus on the issue of access to attraction tickets for tour operators and the challenges they face in getting enough tickets to fulfill demand. They also explore the concept of concentrated tourism and the need to shift demand away from popular attractions to lesser-known, off-the-beate...

Summary In this episode of The Voice of Experiences, Stephen Joyce and Janelle Visser discuss the Lunch and Learn interview with Johannes Reck, CEO of Get Your Guide. They highlight the unique format of the interview and the relaxed and conversational vibe it created. Johannes shares the founding story of Get Your Guide, which started as a student trip to Beijing and the frustration of not finding...